Frank Lampard is challenging his Everton players to “show what they are made of”, as the Premier League season enters its critical final phase.

The Blues will aim for a second straight league victory when they resume their campaign against West Ham United on Sunday following the two-week international break.

And it was to the win over Newcastle United prior to the brief shutdown that Lampard pointed when explaining the “character and togetherness” required for a climb into safer waters.

The manager called on his players to show they have the mettle to consistently perform for the Club following a subsequent FA Cup defeat at Crystal Palace.

There was nothing unusual in that demand, insisted Lampard, who is hoping to profit from the improved conditions of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Dele after a fortnight of unbroken training.

“I challenge the players all the time to show what they’re made of,” said Lampard, whose team are seeking to curb an 11-game winless run on the road.

“That is the Premier League and its demands, I don’t see anything in my comments [after Palace loss] too far from the norm.

“If you are playing at this level of competition, the basics have to be there – and character and fight are among them.

“To play for Everton as a young man means you have character… it is applying it in the right way.

“How we are as a club and a squad is hugely important.

“If you saw the character and togetherness of the stadium against Newcastle – the players and the fans and the staff – it is clear those things are there, that is not in question.

“The question is sustaining it and applying it in every moment you can.

“There is so much to mentality, it is too easy to speak casually about.

“As coaches and staff, we have to find nuggets, for individuals and the collective, to make sure players believe in themselves and have confidence.

“You will take hits in the Premier League, home and away, and when we’ve taken them away we’ve not recovered well enough. That is something we need to improve.”

Dele, signed from Tottenham Hotspur 24 hours after Lampard’s appointment on 31 January, was restricted to a handful of substitute appearances in his opening two months with the Club.

The opportunity to work over a concerted period with the player was very welcome, then.

Lampard was equally grateful for a sustained training block with Dominic Calvert-Lewin, the striker who began only three of the manager’s opening seven Premier League games as he returned from a quadriceps issue.

“The break has been positive for Dominic,” said Lampard.

“I’ve not been able to benefit much from him in league games, so far, he was playing short of fitness.

“A striker needs to be 100 per cent.

“We have worked closely with him in the past couple of weeks.

“I don’t want to put undue pressure on him, it is tough to be striker with a lot of expectation, but he is in a good place.

“And it has been good for Dele to work and train and get extra fitness and sharpness.

“We need everybody in the forward and midfield areas to give everything they can and he is in that bracket.”

Also in that batch of frontline players – from whom Lampard is urging “more output” – are Richarlison, scorer of three goals in two games for Brazil during the international break, and Anthony Gordon.

“Anthony is a pleasure to work with because of his attitude and quality,” said Lampard, who is a fan of the Premier League’s move to allow five substitutions from next season because of a knock-on benefit for “player welfare”.

“Players with Anthony’s application improve quickly because they understand what they want and need to improve.

“He is a dream to work with. It is an area where we have competition but Anthony’s really stood up and continues to do so.

“In Richarlison, I see a hungry player who shows that in his performances.

“The burden of wanting to score goals is natural for a goalscorer, it is not a burden in a negative sense, it is a good burden.”

Lampard, speaking in his pre-match press conference on Friday, emphasised his overarching current priority of “preparing for each game”.

That has meant getting ready for a West Ham team that is “strong physically, really well organised, has lots of threats and is difficult to break down”.

The matter of recruitment, however, is never far away.

“It is always part of the thinking, part of the progression of the Club,” added Lampard.

“Recruitment and the strength of the squad is an ongoing conversation and a hugely important one.

“For any club that has success, it is a big part of the picture.

“But it is secondary to what we do on the pitch.”